Bag-filling apparatus with power discharge



June 6, 1944. w. R. PETERSON I BAG FILLING APPARATUS WITH POWER DISCHARGE Filed Oct. 17, 1940 6 Sheets-Sheet l 0 7 m m W H 2 WM a M1 y/ fiQfFf/a/ m @M A 9m June 6, 1944. w. R. PETERSON 2,350,529

BAG FILLING APPARATUS WITH POWER DISCHARGE Filed 001;. 17, 1940 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 June .6, 1944. w. R. PETERSON 2,350,529

BAG FILLING APPARATUS WITH POWER DISCHARGE Filed Oct. 17, 1940 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 F IE- 5. A N;

June 6, 1944; w. R. PETERSON 7 2,350,529

BAG FILLING APPARATUS WITH POWER DISCHARGE Filed Oct. 17, 1940 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 I BAG FILLING APPARATUS WITH POWER DISCHARGE Filed Oct. 17, 1940 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 A TTORNE VJ' Patented June 6, 1944 assure BAG-FILLING mmrus wi'rn rowan (mane William B. Peterson, Oswego, N. Y., minor to St. Begin Paper Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application October 1'7, 1940, Serial No. 381,609

8 Claims. (Cl. 249-60) This invention relates to apparatus for filling valve bags, and more particularly to apparatus comprising means to discharge the filled bags.

A continuation in part hereof for "Valve bag filler with timed discharge, filed October 25,

' 1943, Serial No. 507,521, shows certain common normally automatically operating discharge means which may be rendered inoperative at will without interfering with other operations of the apparatus.

Further objects and details of the invention will appear as the description proceeds.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification,

Figure l is a side elevation of apparatus embodying one form of the invention, with parts removed and with parts broken away, to show more fully the' important features of novelty;

Fig. 2 is an elevation from the right hand side of Fig. 1, likewise with parts broken away and parts removed;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical section of a shock absorbing and timing cylinder;

Fig. 4 is a view of the cylinder shown in Fig. 3 from the left hand side of that figure partially in section to show certain passages;

Fig. 5 is a partial sectional view through the cylinder along another vertical line to show certain passages.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail view of the tripping mechanism for the automatic discharge;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6, showing the parts in a different position;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged side elevation, partly in section, of the bag clamp and scale lock mechanism.

The apparatus relates to a well known type of bag filling machine employed extensively for filling valve bags with cement or the like and certain of the features which do not relate to the present improvement are removed for purposes of clearer illustration. v

In the construction shown, there is indicated a hopper III which is supplied with material by any suitable means. The lower part of the hopper l0 opens into a housing in which there is a discharge propeller ll indicated in Fig. 1 by dotted lines. The material is discharged through a spout II.

A frame which has a-generai A-shape and is usually spoken of as the A frame I3 is suspended from one end of a scale beam ll, the other end of which supports a suitable counter-balancing weight l5. At the lower end of the A frame, there is a web Ii in which there is mounted a vertically adjustable rod ll. On the top of rod ii there is a head I! on which a bag bottom support I!) is mounted by means of a pivot bolt 20 which may be inserted through any one of a series ofholes 2|. In Fig. 1, there is indicated a bag 22 supported at its bottom by support I! and having a tube It inserted through the usual valve into the bag. A clamp 23 is indicated for holding the bag upon the tube, as best shown in Fig. 8.

Mounted on web l6 by means of pivots 25 there are members 24 connected by a cross-piece 26 adapted to engage the rear side of the bag and assist in discharging it as will be indicated more clearly below.

In the construction shown there is indicated a drive shaft 30 driving a belt 3! which in turn drives a pulley 32 on shaft 33. A crank pin 34 turned by shaft 33 is connected by a link 35 to a lever 38. During the normal operation of the machine, shaft 33 is constantly rotating and consequently lever 36 is constantly oscillating.

A rod 37 carries a bumper end 38 suitable for contacting member 26 and discharg g the bag at the proper time. The rod is mounted upon a suitable antifriction support 21 (see Fig. 7) and carries a dust guard 39, as shown in Fig. 1.

A hook 40 is pivoted at ll upon a head 42 mounted on the rear end of rod 31. Hook 40 is normally raised by a spring 43. A link it is pivoted at its lower end to head 42 and is pivoted at 45 at its upper end to the frame of the machine and so supports the head in an oscillating path. The hook 40 is depressed at suitable intervals to be engaged by the upper end of lever 36, and when depressed, engages a pin 46 on the upper end of lever 36, and so the rod is forced to the right with the lever. Spring 4! draws the link 44 to the left until a bumping block- 18 thereon engages a portion of the frame. A stop 49 limits the upward movement of hook 40.

The depression of hook I0 is caused by a rod 50 pivoted at II at its upper end and to a bell crank lever 52 on shaft 53. Spring 54 connected to the other end of the bell crank lever aids gravity in tending to depress rod 50. A latch member 55 mounted on shaft 53 normally rests upon an anti-friction roller 56 on a lever 51. Lever 51 is constantly urged to the left by a spring 58 and'is allowed to move to the left by certain latch means which will be more fully described below.

When lever 51 is allowed to move to the left, as viewed in Fig. l, roller support 56 riding along the lower side of member 55 permits that member to lower and shaft 53 and bell crank lever 52, to oscillate and lower rod 50 so as to depress hook 40 into the path of the upper end of lever 86. It will be noted that the end of hook 40 is beveled so that if lever 35 does not happen to be in its extreme left position when the hook is lowered, the hook is cammed up upon the next movement of the lever to the left, as shown in Fig. 6, spring 54 allowing this yielding movement of the hook. but immediately depressing the hook as soon as the lever has moved far enough to the left. Upon the next stroke of the lever to the right, rod 31 is driven therewith and presses against crosspiece 26, thereby moving it against the bag and discharging the bag. After the cross-piece 26 has moved a sumcient distance about pivots 25, the center of avity of the bag 22 is moved to the right of pi t 20 and thereafter bottom support I9 tilts with the bag as the bag is discharged. The lower end of rod 50 is passed through a slot between members 60 pivotally mounted at 5|.

As shown most clearly in Figs. 6 and "I, the rod 50 is smaller at its lower end and larger at its upper end, having an intermediate shoulder 59. Normally, this shoulder is above a slotted guide member 60 which is pivotally mounted on the frame at 0|. When the rod is lowered, as shown in Fig. 6, the shoulder is lowered. The slot of member 60 is narrowed at 62. When the hook operates to drive rod 31 to the right, a pin 63 in head 42 forces rod 50 to the right and the tines of the fork yield sufiiciently so that the rod passes through this narrow portion of the slot, and its weight does not return it to the left until the shoulder 59 is raised above the narrow portion 62 of the slot.

Upon the return of roller 56 to the position in which it is shown in Fig. 1, rod 50 is lifted so shoulder 59 is above guide 60 and the rod is free to swing back to the position in which it is shown in Figs. 1 and '7. But at times it is desired to render the automatic bagdischarge inoperative for a time. For this purpose there is provided a handle 64 pivoted in a conveniently accessible position to a bracket 65 and connected by a link 56 to an arm 81 on guide 50. When handle 60 is raised, as shown in Fig. 1, spring 68 forces link 66 to the left and raises guide 50 to the position shown in Fig. 1, and in dotted lines in Fig. 6. In this position, narrow portion 62 of the guide prevents the swinging of rod 50 to the left and so keeps it out of alignment with hook 40.

. Link 66 is curved at 69 so that lowering handle 60 brings the pivot of the handle above the line between the pivots at the ends of link 68 and so locks guide 60 in its lowered position.

Lever 51 is controlled as follows. This lever is pivoted at 15 upon a suitable stationary bracket and has an extension I6 which is connected to a combined shock absorber and timer which will be described later. The lever 51 is locked in the position in which it is shown in Fig. 1 by means of an adjustable screw 11 engaging a screw 18 in a lock latch 19. The screw 18 is very close to the fulcrum of the latch and spring 80 biasing the latch towards the right, as viewed in Fig. 1, is sufficient to lock the lever in position. A stop screw 8| limits the movement of the latch to the right and determines the position of screw 18.

On the upper end of lock latch 19 there is a roller 82. Carried on theweight end of scale beam I4 there is a screw 83. When the h s on scale rising. When this happens, screw 88 contacts roller 82, swinging lock screw latch 10 and releasing screw 11.

The combined shock absorber and timer comprises a casting I00 in which there is a cylindrical opening IOI. A piston rod I02 carries pistons I03 and I04 within cylinder IOI. Both pistons I03 and I04. are bored longitudinally of the cylinder, but piston I04 carries ball valves I05 in these openings so that they are effective only when the piston is being lowered. Also, the vertical passages controlled by balls I05 are somewhat limited so that when the piston is depressed, the movement is slowed up by this restriction upon the flow of the liquid which is employed in the cylinder.

At the bottom of the cylinder there is a lateral opening I06 connected to a vertical passage I01. This vertical pasage I01 is restricted by a needle valve I 08 so that its effective cross-section can be adjusted. Passage I01 leads past check ball I08 into an enlarged vertical passage IIO which communicates by a lateral passage III with the top of the cylinder.

Cylinder head H2 is provided with an air chamber II3 above the oil or the like normally employed in the cylinder. Packing II4 around rod I02 is compressed by a gland nut I I5 to which there is attached a flexible shield IIG, the top of which is connected to head II1 upon piston rod I02, which is pivotally bonnected to extension 16. By this means the packing is protected from dust.

It will be seen that when the piston rod is being lowered the movement is restricted by the passages through piston I04 plus the adjustable passage past valve I08, which is sufiicient to vary the resistance to the downward movement of the piston as much as is necessary. Upon the upward movement of the piston the balls I05 close the passages through piston I04, thereby forcing the liquid to seek other passages in order to reach the lower end of the cylinder. As will be seen from Figs. 3 and 4, the liquid from the upper portion of cylinder I M may pass out through port I 20 past adjustable needle valve I2I and through passages I22, I23 to passage I01, thereby by-passing check valve I09. Obviously this will be a passage restricted not only by needle valve I08, but also to any desired degree by needle valve I2 I Port I25 is so related to the stroke of the piston rod that when the piston rod is in its lower position the port is uncovered. After the piston rod has moved up a certain distance, piston I03 covers port I25. After it has passed upward a suilicient additional amount, piston I03 again uncovers port I25. As a consequence, the initial upward movement of the piston rod is relatively free since the liquid is permitted to pass through passage I25, but during an intermediate period while piston I 03 covers port I25, the liquid can pass only past needle valves I2I and I08 and consequently at that time the movement of the piston rod is comparatively slow. After piston I03 uncovers port I25 again, the remainder of but for convenience, the operation will be summarized as follows:

With the parts in the position in which .they are shown in Fig. 1, the material is being fed into the bag. When the bag has received a sufflcient weight of material, the weight I is over.- come and the spout and bag drop to a lower position. The feed of material is then cut oil either by spout I2 dropping out of alignment with the outlet for the material, or by other well known means.

The release of screw 11 by the swinging of latch 19 because of contact screw 83 with roller 32 enables spring 58 to draw lever 5! to the left, as viewed in Fig. 1. However, the movement of the lever is retarded by the adjustment of the combined shockabsorber and timer as described above so that a properly adjustable interval elapses between the swing of the beam and the shutting off of the flow of material to the bag before lever 51 moves far enough to permit the downward movement of rod 50. During this interval, the compressed air remaining in the bag at the end of the filling operation is allowed to escape. At the close of the adjusted interval, rod 50 is lowered and presses hook l0 downward so that upon the next oscillation of lever 36, rod 31 is shoved to the right and discharges the bag, the bag bottom support tilting about pivot 20 to aid in discharging the bag. Plate 26 insures the proper movement of the top of the bag and that it is stripped from the filling spout. I I

Immediately after the bag is discharged, the bag support returns to its normal position because the center of gravity thereof is to the left of pivot 20, as viewed in Fig. 1. Preferably the load end of the beam is held down by a latch until an empty bag is placed upon the tube and the latch is released, either separately or by movement of the clamp 23 to its operative position. The structure of the clamp and the means for locking the load end-oi the beam in its lowered position form no part of the invention claimed in this application, any convenient arrangement for these purposes being capable of use with the mechanisms claimed herein; but the construction fully disclosed in my co-pending application for Bag filling apparatus with hand discharge filed October 1, 1940, Serial No. 359,- 219 may be referred to as suitable for the pur pose. In the construction disclosed in said co-pending application and indicated suflicient1y-' and pivot of the clamp being so arranged that when the clamp is in clamping position, as indicated in Fig. 8, the spring passes below the pivot I3I of the clamp and so holds it down in clamping position, but when the clamp is raised, the spring passes the pivot point 'I3I and so maintains the clamp inraised position until it is forcibly lowered.

An operating handle I35 is attached to an arm I35 of a bell crank lever which is loosely mounted upon shaft I28 between uprights of frame I3. The handle I35 is provided with a plate I39 in position to contact pin I33 to which spring I32 is attached when handle I35 is lowered.

The upper ends of members 24 are provided with a handle I" and with an abutment I which contacts an adjustable pin I 43 on clamp.

23 when handle I41 is moved forward, or when pusher 31 operates to discharge the bag. when handle 64 is operated to render the automatic discharge inoperative, the discharge may be effected by handle I".

Extending upward from handle I35 there is a rod I50 provided with a yoke embracing the forward end of an arm I5I on a scale latch I52. Another arm I53 of the scale latch is normally pressed downward by a spring I54, as indicated on Fig. 8.

A handle I58 is pivoted upon the hopper above the A-irame and is normally held upward in the position in which it is shown in Fig. 8 by a spring I59, but can be moved down when desired to depress the A-frame and the load end of the scale beam.

When the bag is discharged either automatically or by hand, contact of pins I43 and I43 tilts the bag clamp and releases the bag from the spout and at the same time pin I33 contacts plate I33 and raises handle I35. At the same time, rod I50 is raised so that latch I52 is forced by spring I54 into latching position on the end of the scale beam. By this latch, the scale beam and A-frame are maintained in their lowered position.

After the bag has been discharged, another bag is placed upon the spout and then handle I35 is moved down until plate I39 contacting pin I33 forces spring I32 past the line of pivot I3I, after which the spring snaps the bag clamp into holding position.

Depression of handle I35 also depresses rod I50 and arm I5I of latch I52, thereby releasing the latch and allowing the scale beam to return upward. This causes return of spout I2 to registering position with the discharge opening so that the filling of the bag is started and the procedure is repeated. As soon as the bag is discharged, if no lock is used, or upon the release of the lock when used, the weight I5 returns the scale beam to the position in which it is shown in Fig. 1, the beam contacting extension I5 of lever 51 on its way down, thereby forcing lever 51 to the right and piston I04 toward the bottom of cylinder I00, the shock absorber preventing a sudden jar to the apparatus by cushioning this return movement of the beam to the desired extent. This releases roller 82 and latch I9 so that the lower end thereof is returned by spring 20 to the position where stop 8| contacts the stationary portion of the frame. The return movement of the scale beam likewise swings lever 51 to the right, bringing screw II in position to be locked by screw I8. This movement of lever 51 raises rod 50, allows it to swing back to the position in which it is shown in Fig. l, and resets it for operation with another bag.

It will be seen that the apparatus disclosed herein will automatically discharge filled bags under normal conditions, but that the automatic discharge means may be rendered inoperative by a simple movement of handle 64. Also, the device provides for an accurately adjustable interval between the cutting off of the flow of material to the bag by the dropping of the load end of the scale beam and the discharge of the bag. The exact apparatus shown and desrcibed works very well for these purposes and has many minor advantages for convenient and eillcient operation; 7

but it will be understood that many changes in the apparatus may be made within the scope of the appended claimswhile retaining important advantages of the invention.

What I claim is: i

1. In apparatus for filling valve bags comprising a scale beam, a spout mounted on the load end of the scale beam and adapted to enter the valve of a bag, means to feed material to and through said spout, and means operative immediately upon the lowering of the load end of the beam to stop the feed of material from said feeding means, a constantly moving power-driven element, a discharge rod for discharging a filled bag from the spout, a timer rendered effective by the lowering of the load end of the beam,

and means rendered operable by the timer to connect the element to the rod for producing discharging movement of the rod a predetermined time after said lowering;

2. In apparatus for filling valve bags comprising a scale beam, at spout mounted on the load end of the scale beam and adapted'to enter the valve of a bag, means to feed material to and through said spout, and means operative immediately upon the lowering of the load end of the beam to stop the feed of material from said feeding means, a cylinder and piston, .a spring urging the piston towards one end of the cylinder, an adjustable passage governing the escape of fluid from in front of the piston when the piston is moved by the spring, a latch holding the piston against movement responsive to the spring, connections releasing the latch upon the lowering of the load end of the beam, a constantly moving power-driven element, a rod for discharging a filled bag from the spout, and means for connecting the element to the rod for efiecting discharge movement of the rod when the piston has been moved a predetermined distance by the spring. J

3. In apparatus for filling valve bags comprising a scale beam, a spout mounted on the load end of the scale beam and adapted to enter the valve of a bag, means to feed material to and through said spout, and means operative immediately upon the lowering of the load end of the beam to stop the feed of material from said feeding means, a cylinder and piston, a spring urg ing the piston towards one end of the cylinder, an adjustable passage governing the escape of fiuid from in front of the piston when the piston is moved by the spring, a latch holding the piston against movement responsive to the spring, connections releasing the latch upon the lowering of the load end of the beam, and means for discharging the bag rendered operative by movement of the piston in response to the spring for a predetermined distance and connections moving the piston against the action of the spring by ascent of the load end of the beam.

4. In apparatus for filling valve bags comprising a scale beam, a spout mounted on the load end of the scale beam and adapted to enter the valve of a bag, means to feed material to and through said spout, and means operative immediately upon the lowering of the load end of the beam to stop the feed of material from said feeding means, a cylinder and piston, a spring urging the piston towards one end of the cylinder, an adjustable passage governing the escape of fluid from in front of the piston when the piston is moved by the spring, a latch holding the piston against movement responsive to the spring,

connections releasing the latch upon the lowering of the load end of the beam, and means for discharging the bag rendered operative by movement of the piston in response to the spring for a predetermined distance and connections moving the piston against the action of the spring by ascent of the load end of the beam, there being an adjustable passage governing the escape of fluid from in front of the piston when it is moved against the action of the spring.

5. Apparatus for filling receptacles comprising a scale beam having a load end and a weight end, a support for a receptacle on the load end of the beam, means for feeding material to a receptacle 0n the support while the load end of the beam is up and stopping the feed when said lead end drops, means to discharge a filled receptacle from the support, and a timing and shock-absorbing unit initiating the discharge action of the discharge means a predetermined time after the load end drops and acting as a shock absorber for the descent of the weight end of the beam.

6. In apparatus for filling bags comprising a scale beam, a spout mounted on the beam and adapted to enter the valve of a bag, means for feeding material to and through the spout, and means stopping the feed of material from said feeding means upon the dropping of the load end of the beam, a cylinder and piston, connections initiating the movement of the piston in one direction by the lowering of the load end of the beam, means to discharge a filled bag from the spout, and connections rendering the piston and cylinder efi'ective as a timing means to render the discharge means operative a predetermined time after the dropping of the load end of the beam, and efiective as a shock absorber for the dropping of the weight end of the beam.

7. In apparatus for filling bags comprising a scale beam, a spout mounted on the scale beam and adapted to enter thevalve of a bag, and means to feed material to and through the spout, a constantly power-driven element, bag discharge means, connections for connecting the dicharge means to the element for effecting bag discharge, means rendering said connections in-' operative after one discharge action, means actuated by the drop of the weight end of the beam to set the connections for operation, and means responsive to the drop of the load end of the beam to release the connections for operation.

8. In apparatus for filling bags comprising a scale beam, 9. spout mounted on the scale beam and adapted to enter the valve of a. bag, and means to feed material to and through the spout,

a constantly power-driven element, bag dis- I 

